weight gain 5 years out

Hi all-- I had surgery 5 years ago and lost 130 pounds. (350 pounds, down to 230, now back up to 270) I stopped losing after 1 year out. In the past few years I have gained back 40 pounds. I still get sick every now and then when I eat meat or heavy proteins and get nauseated when I eat sugary stuff. I have had problems with iron retention and have had iron infusions to get me back up to par for a few months. My family doc says I am wavering on the edge of malnutrition all the time, even though I feel I eat good and drink enough water., so I am afraid to go back to eating really small portions like we did when it was new to us. I have been thinking about another surgery--has anyone ever had another? I had a RNY back then. I need someone to talk about this as soon as possible!!!!! Thanks ChatKat15

Hi ChatKat, Instead of going for a new surgery, how about using the tool that you already have? I've gained a little bit of weight back too....about 10% of what I lost, so I decided I needed to get a handle on it. I went to Weigh****chers for the support...and found if I follow their point system, eating my protein first, I do very well. I lost 4.4 lb the first week. You don't need another surgery.....just utilize the one you have...it's always there for you. Teresa

How are you doing with your supplements? you are really facing 2 issues here. weight gain and poor nutrition. The 2 are so closely interconnected that addressing one will address the other. yes, you need to go back to the original plan that lost the initial pounds. Protein first. what kinds of meat, fish chicken can you tolerate?. You need to get in at LEAST 6 oz a day. that is the size of a deck of cards and aprox 50 grams of protein. divide that into 3 meals of 2 oz portions a day. then , can you tolerate dairy. I eat 3 sevings ie 1C milk or Yyogurt, or 1 oz of cheese. AND I take 3 citracal plus D a dat as well. I eat 2 small pieces of fruit a day. I buy the smallest size bananas, apples etc. I eat as many vegetables a day as I want with out limit. I snack on them, i eat them with meals etc. cooked, raw etc. I eat 2-3 servings of whole wheat bread or high protein high fiber kashi go lean or Kashi crunch cereal or Barilla plus pasta, or brown rice. I divide this out over 6 meals a day. I also take 2 multis a day - i use one a day for women. prenatals are also good, or any good multiple vitamin. I use my 3 citracal plus a day. I was anemic and it isnow under control, I take ferosequels which are an iron supplement with a stool softener in it which helps as I get pretty constipated on some forms of iron. In addition, I also take dry E 400 IU a day, flax oil supplements, and use probiotics, lactobaccillus bacteria that helps keep down the yeast infections and also promotes a healthy digestive system, reduces gas and has all but eliminated my lactose intolerance. (the lactobacillus helps digest lactose) Last but not least - what are you doing to exercise. did you know that vigorous exercise tells your body to produce more red blood cells? not to mention the general toning it provides and the cardiac health benefits. Excercise will make you feel better. It even alleviates depression. I have read, and found to be true formyself that exercise treats mild to moderate depression as well as medication. Unless you are doing all you can do for yourself, having another surgery is not likely to do you a lot of good unless something is malfunctioning in the surgery you have already had. It has helped me when I felt I was getting off track to get a note book and log my food, and exercise on a daily basis and give an honest look at my habits. I am almost 4 years out and have been maintaining in the 135-140 range after losing 130 pounds. I keep aware of my wieght. earlier this month I weighed in at 143. ths is out of my range, so I immediately started journaling my food an dexercise, saw where I was off track and adjusted myself. I am back to 137. the reason I Immediately addressed this is that I went to my highest weight ONE POUND AT A TIME. I lost the 130 ONE POUND AT A TIME. You can only live day by day. make today count. I put a a lot of nutrition info on my profile and even some sample menus of simple healthy good tasting food. keep in touch and live healthy! happy and strong. HUGS!

Hi ChatKat, I agree with Theresa, unless you have a mechanical problem (blown stoma, staple line disruption, fistula, etc) your tool should still work. It's getting the mind around making right choices and focusing on protein first. Do you feel you are eating excessive amounts per meal? Do you stay hungry constantly? If so, I'd recommend you visiting with your surgeon and possibly running test to make sure your surgery is intake. If it is then another surgery isn't what you really want, especially since you are borderline malnourished now. It's a matter of refocusing and making good choices, drinking your water, taking the proper vitamins and exercise. Please let us know how you are doing, I wish you well. Dana

If you are on the edge of malnutrition, I would suggest you begin a program of supplements. Not just vitamins, but some of the "super green" drinks/powders you can get at Whole Foods or health food stores. These have all sorts of grasses, fruits, veggies, etc. in them. Shop around for the best. I would also recommend getting some fresh, cold-pressed flax oil. It should be refrigerated with an expiration date on it. You only need to take a teaspoon or so per day. You can mix it with foods or drinks to get rid of the fishy smell. It is best if mixed with protein. This is great for your immune system, and will start to get your body back in shape. Also start taking your protein supplements and iron, and vitamins of course. This way, you will start getting your body healthy, and you can cut back on food calories without worrying so much about the nutrition problems.

First off are you being honest with yourself? You may be eating, but not eating the correct foods. Many people slip back into the carb habit and don't eat enough protein. The protein keeps the iron up and our bodies strong, most carbs are of little nutritional value. In the early days we were told to eat 4 oz of dense protein (chicken, steak, pork chop) If not full eat low carb veggies, If not full eat a piece of fruit. At 32 months 4 oz of dense protein still fills me up, but I could eat carbs all day and never fill up. If I get hungry in between meals I allow myself one snack but I make sure it adds to the nutrition (a piece of fruit, 12 almonds, 2 pieces of sugar free, 2 oz cheese, etc). I have already been through a stage of wanting to be normal so I can relate to regain. Well I gained 12 lbs eating what I thought was normal. I went back to eating correctly and the 12 lbs disappeared. Once more I find I'm not normal, I'm an obese person waiting to come back. We have our tool, but we have to work it. Best of luck!

Sounds like you got several very good answers. It sounds like you started making poor food choices early out and this bad habit has continued to today. You still have the tool, but now you will have a lot of hard, hard work to do if you want to turn yourself around and it may not be easy. You have to be compliant and get rid of the red-light foods and bad carbs (pasta, rice, potatoes, and bread, not to mention NO SUGAR AT ALL, EVER). Are you following the success habits of WLS patients?? Meaning taking your vitamins and supplements and having regular labs and not drinking when eating and exercising and being accountable?? These need to be implemented asap and you may need to clean out your house! But if you want it badly enough, you CAN do it, because you still have the tool.

Carol, I am almost 2 years from surgery, and found the weight starting to creep back on. I went down to 160, and then in less than 6 week**** 170. Huge panic set in, and I really started to evaluate what I was eating. The bottomline, I was eating way to much. I was up to 2000 calories a day. And I didn't think I could eat that much. But it was grazing and the type of foods I was eating. I could not believe how much fat I was consuming, and the wrong kinds of carbs. I am now eating good carbs, albeit too many, and I am adding more protien drinks into my diet. It isd hard because I crave chocolate all the time, so I have a chocolate protein shake in the afternoon, which really helps that craving. I found a really good website called www.myfooddiary.com. I use that to keep track of every crum I put into my mouth. I am down to around 1400 calories a day, and my weight has leveled off to where I have been since I hit my 1 year anniversary. Around 165. 170 is my panic weight, and I swear I will never go there again. And if I don't exercise in the day, then I cut my calories a bit more. It is a great website. Good luck. I never want to gain this weight back so I understand you pain.